


Bleeding Love

by scarletladyy



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/F, F/M, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-10
Updated: 2012-06-10
Packaged: 2017-12-13 09:22:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/822673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarletladyy/pseuds/scarletladyy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As innocent as Astoria's hand might look to anyone else, brushing lightly across Pansy's shoulder, Draco knows better.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bleeding Love

**Author's Note:**

> Written for dysfuncentine 2012. The title comes from Leona Lewis' beautiful song Bleeding Love. I think the lyrics are a perfect fit for both Draco and Astoria in this fic. I hope you enjoy. :)

As innocent as Astoria's hand might look to anyone else, brushing lightly across Pansy's shoulder, Draco knows better. It's these little touches that cement his belief that his wife has always fancied his former best friend, rather than the more obvious hugs or kisses on the cheek. That was just how women expressed themselves, he was constantly told, and perhaps it was, but even the closest of friends do not usually share what Astoria and Pansy do.

Draco has never known any adult witch to have sleepovers with their best friend, where pillow fights and giggling were the norm. Several times when Draco has got up in the middle of the night he has heard them doing more than just playing around, and he's always thought that was suspicious enough. To have to hear the moans Astoria elicits during sex being drawn from Pansy is painful on so many levels that to cope, he just tries to forget what he hears.

This isn't easy. In fact, it's incredibly hard, made worse by the fact that Draco knows Pansy doesn't love Astoria back. Pansy's always been a manipulative bitch and takes full advantage of Astoria's love for her. But of course, he can't say anything. It would just make things awkward and volatile, not to mention he finds it somewhat sweet that Astoria thinks he doesn't know. Besides, even if he wanted to, and he wasn't sure that he did as he felt a great degree of sympathy for his wife, he couldn't get a divorce for they weren't legal in the wizarding world. He'd found out through Hermione Granger, as dull an hour as that had been, that if they were Muggles, this would have been an acceptable solution.

But they weren't. For the first time ever, Draco finds himself wishing otherwise.

Until he remembers how much he loves Astoria and how he'd do anything for her, including standing by while she blatantly flirts with a woman whose only goal is to see how far she can go. So he lingers near the drinks, taking Firewhiskey after Firewhiskey, wallowing in misery as his wife revels in pleasure, though he knows it's only short lived. Astoria knows it too, for deep down she's aware that her love for Pansy is unrequited; he can see it in her eyes every time Pansy gives that special sort of attention to another. Though that doesn't stop Astoria from taking whatever affection she can get.

Angry at the way Pansy is treating his wife, Draco has a good mind to go over there and say something, but he doesn't want to cause a scene. Especially not with these two; the loudest and most vindictive female Slytherins bar his Aunt that he'd ever come across. No, that was a losing battle.

Instead, Draco watches as Pansy pulls Astoria onto her knee when she thinks no one is looking, and plays with her hair. She twirls it around in her fingers, making the usually poker-straight strands wavy at best, and caressing Astoria's neck with her free hand. Astoria's giggling like a schoolgirl, but then Daphne enters the ballroom with Draco's best friend Theodore Nott, and Pansy pushes Astoria off her knee and gets up. She goes to Daphne, greeting her with tender kisses on the cheek, the way she had with Astoria earlier on in the night.

Astoria sits down on the chair Pansy has vacated, looking lost and dejected, glaring daggers at her sister for taking Pansy away from her. It isn't Daphne's fault, Draco knows, but Astoria is far too blinded by love to see that. She waits and waits for Pansy to return, but as each second passes, she becomes more and more upset. The amount of alcohol she's consumed is just making it worse.

So now, when Astoria needs him the most, Draco steps up and asks her to dance. She blinks back the tears and accepts his offer, and though he knows it's only to try and make Pansy jealous, he's happy all the same. It's in these moments that he can pretend Pansy doesn't exist and that his wife loves him as much as he does her, but then the dance ends and Astoria tries to find Pansy, but this time, Draco isn't having any of it.

Whether for the purely selfish reason of wanting Astoria all to himself, or not wanting to see her hurt by the woman she loves, he doesn't know, and he doesn't care. Pansy has caused enough heartache for one evening and Draco won't let it go any further.

"Come on," he says sternly, holding out his arm for Astoria to take. She sighs and opens her mouth to resist he's sure, but then she spots Pansy and Daphne coming back into the ballroom, dishevelled and giggling, and takes his hand. They hadn't seen her dance with Draco at all, and though he doesn't understand why—women are strange creatures—he knows it hurts. "Let's go home."

For once in her life, Astoria doesn't argue. This is progress, Draco thinks. One small step on a long path, whereby the end destination is the realisation that Pansy is a manipulative bitch. But one step is better than nothing, and Draco knows she'll get there eventually. She just needs time. 

Oh, and to get her heart broken into a few more pieces. Draco's sure that will do the trick.


End file.
